dawsonscreek

If you have a dog or a friend with a dog it wouldnt hurt to bring them. I winged a mallard last year and it got away, brought my dog back later and he tracked it down, granted he is a trained bird dog. Good luck!

Beautiful fur on that one!

Buddy and I hunted our river spot. Saw an incredible amount of mallards at first light. At legal shooting we had 50+ mallards in the decoys. We just watched for a while as ducks dropped in and it got light enough to pick drakes. We each took one, retrieved the birds then shortly after we each took our second. We hung out for a few more hours and decoyed a bunch more mallards but no other species showed up apart from some lawn darts. Sure do miss that 4 bird limit on days like that.

He is big! What did the weight end being?

Just thinking of a fun thread to see what guns or bows (or more) people have taken deer with… I’ll go first…in order to the best I can remember… Rem 870 12 gauge slug Hoyt bow Mathew’s bow Winchester rifle in .280 REM Mathew’s bow x2 REM 870 slug Mathew’s bow x3 CVA optima .50 cal 45-70 marlin rifle Toyota Tacoma 7-30 waters Thompson center pistol. hopefully to add 300 blackout this year. Let’s see what everybody else has used.

I'm excited to try out a new gun. Been wanting a patrol style rifle for deer hunting (short, light, compact). For where and how I hunt someting that's quick to the shoulder and easy to carry is ideal. I found a Mossberg MVP Patrol in 300 blackout at the local store so I bought myself a birthday present. I won't have it ready to go for the opener but should be good to go by the second weekend. Anybody have experience witht this caliber on deer? I think i am going to shoot a 150 grain ballistic tip (I'll have to order offline). Shots will be kept to under 100 yards.

That looks like a good time!

Woodcock are great for young dogs! I had a lot of fun with them last year. I hunt the southern tier and last year I noticed toward the end of October or early November an influx. A lot of guys don’t hold them to high value because they aren’t much challenge for the dog, but I’d rather come home with a brace of birds than be skunked by the grouse!

The best way he and you will both learn is just to take him! Don't expect everything to go perfectly, let him have fun and learn as he goes. I'm approaching the 3rd season with my brittany, and it is a blast. Like you said, having a hunting dog will change you, I've barley thought about deer hunting since I've had the birddog.

Thank you! I will definitely check out Cayuga on the right wind days. Probably wait until after Labor Day so there will hopefully be less boat traffic. I do really enjoy how quiet and peaceful it is on Canadice. I appreciate you weighing in stay safe, tight lines!

Does anybody have and willing to give any advice on jigging Lakers in canadice? I have been to the lake twice in the last 3 weeks and only managed one laker each time. Maybe I’ve just timed it in tough days or maybe these fish need to see something different than the standard 1oz jig and swim bait. I have marked plenty of fish and and bait and had some solid chasers that just wouldn’t hit. Any advice is appreciated. I don’t have a real boat or I’d obviously be on Cayuga, I just got a nice fishing kayak so Candice makes the most sense right now.

Rocky shoreline near the boat launch turned out to be alright. Didn’t have any crazy action but managed a couple chunky bass. Tried for browns with spoons but never had any luck, though I did see a really nice one Juno about 10 feet from where I casted. Overall a fun trip, the pup got a kick out of the swans! Thanks all for the tips, I appreciate it!

That is super generous of you, I appreciate it. Not sure if I’ll end up fishing the pier or not, but thank you. I will contact you if I decide to. Gonna try the rocky shoreline tomorrow, hopefully the wind dies off a bit. We’re only here for 2 nights and it more of a couples getaway than a fishing trip 😅Thanks again!

Thanks! Just got here, no net.....but I’ll see what I can do here!

Thank you Bad_Influence!

My girlfriend and I will be renting one of the cabins in the state park 5/12-5/14. I was just wondering if there was any decent shore fishing opportunities nearby. I've got plenty of spoons and Rapalas. Not looking for anybody's top secret tips, but if somebody could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Thanks!

They’re dropping! Found this one December 7th and have seen and heard of quite a few shed bucks.

Took this guy December 1st. My first deer with a pistol and probably equal to my nicest buck. I took the shot at 4:15 and it felt like a good one. I didn’t see the buck crash but it looked like he was struggling. The pistol was so loud that my ears were ringing so much I couldn’t here him crash either. I went up to look for sign before dark but couldn’t find anything. I walked back to the house, had some food and called my dad. He came over and we went back up to look. It had started snowing now so I was concerned we would lose what sign there may be. Nothing, couldn’t even find dig up tracks from him running. It is a small block of woods behind my house so I knew if he was dead he’d be in there. We gridded it where I saw him heading but still nothing. At this point I was sick, thinking I had either missed the buck or made a bad shot. I called a couple buddies and went back to the house to wait for them. The three of us went back in and started from the shot area again and Cody was able to find some running tracks. After following them a bit I was able to find some blood and my confidence was restored. But still unsure of the hit. The trail picked up and was pretty easy to follow slowly. We got to a spot where we lost blood for a while, but I made an arc and found some more. The trail picked up pretty good again and I was able to find some foamy blood on some goldenrod. Now I felt a lot better. We followed a few more spots and looked up 10 yards away to see my buck dead as could be and covered in snow. The shot was right behind the shoulder and smashed both lungs. I just was looking about 10 yards to close at the initial site of the shot. The buck didn’t make it 100 yards before piling up. The shot was from about 70 yards. Super happy I stuck with it and finally got a deer with the pistol, and a hell of a deer at that! This is the first time I’ve killed a deer that I “had history” with, I have his sheds from at least 2 years but potentially 3. To think that he avoided hunters all those years and I was the one that was in the right place at the right time still stuns me. Hope you enjoy the read, good luck and safe hunting!

Put that same round in yesterday and it went boom, hit the target dead center too! 😂

Not sure if I had a dud shell or if I messed up with the gun. Anybody use a TC contender? I think I had the selector switch either on safe or not fully on centerfire. None the less, when I dropped that hammer and heard that click instead of a boom, I was in awe. Really want to kill one with this pistol!

“Shot” this guy today with my Nikon. Town deer, so he’s safe for now. Walmart is on the other side of that brush. Estimates on score/age? I am not one who cares about score but I am curious. I would estimate 130” and 4.5 years old.

Can't beat that for a "weekend"!!

Great dogs! This is my first Brit and he has trained me more than I have him. They are smart and if you’re a novice like myself it’s a great option. But yes, as stated, loads and loads of energy! They will go from sun up to sun down full speed and never stop till they get back in the truck. He is a great bird finder also, takes very well to positive training but doesn’t handle negative pressure like a lab will. I would definitely recommend a Brittany if you live an active lifestyle and have plenty of time each day to exercise them. Good luck!